Tone library / Black Sabbath / Paranoid

Paranoid amp settings — Line 6 Spider v6

The Black Sabbath guitar tone for “Paranoid”, dialed in for a Line 6 Spider v6 with a Tanglewood Semi acoustic. Studio version, Paranoid album (1970)

Original rig

Gibson SG Standard → Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster → Laney LA100BL (inputs overloaded for extra gain), 4x12 cabs with Celestion speakers

Grinding, trebly crunch with scooped bass, aggressive upper-mid bite, raw and cutting
Amp settings — Line 6 Spider v6
CHANNELCrunch (closest to overdriven British stack)
GAIN 7 BASS 2 MID 8 TREBLE 8 PRESENCE 7 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain7
Bass2
Mid8
Treble8
Presence7
Reverb0
Master6
Don’t have a Line 6 Spider v6? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →
Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10
Why these settings

Iommi ran zero bass on his Laney with everything else maxed, plus a Rangemaster boosting treble frequencies into the front end. Your Spider's Crunch channel emulates a Marshall-style voice which is brighter than the Laney original—I've pulled treble to 8 instead of 10 and added bass back to 2 to avoid ice-pick harshness. The Rangemaster boost is simulated by pushing gain to 7 and keeping mids high. Your semi-hollow will add warmth Iommi's solid SG lacked, so the extra treble/presence compensates.

PRO TIPIommi picks hard directly over the bridge pickup pole pieces with a downward attack—this is where that grinding, almost percussive chunk comes from. Soft picking will lose the tone entirely.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Line 6 Spider v6. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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